Don't Touch My Echidna!
by Phoenix Ride
Summary: Mephiles lands on Angel Island, losing his memory and becomes Knuckles new friend Dusk. Shadow and Silver are on misson to stop this dangerous friendship before destroys the world. Will Knuckles stop Mephiles before this happens? Find Out! Please Review!
1. Chapter 1: Stranger From The Sky

**Don't Touch My Echidna!**

**By: Phoenix Ride**

**Ch.1: Stranger From The Sky**

It was a clear, peaceful night on Angel Island. The full moon shined bright, and millions of stars twinkled like diamonds in the dark sky.

Down below, sitting in the glowing green glow of the Master Emerald, sat Knuckles the Echidna, breathing in the night air, a relaxed expression painted on his face. He always enjoyed the night time's on Angel Island. It was the only time he ever felt truly at peace.

Curiously the red echidna's voilet gaze wondered over to a small cabin placed about ten feet away from the Master Emerald's alter. Through the cabin's window Knuckles could see the Chaotix messing around.

Vector was busy chasing Charmy for some unknown reason, while Espio was trying to meditate. The chameleon wasn't having much luck, and when he got up to yell at Vector and Charmy, the duo attacked him by tickling his stomach.

Knuckles chuckled at the trio's antics. It was good to have someone else living with him on Angel Island. Knuckles had spent so many years alone that he had never known what having true friends were like. If it wasn't for Sonic and his impulsive actions, Knuckles may have never met the Chaotix.

" I guess I owe some thanks to that hedgehog," thought Knuckles, laying back down, and turning his gaze towards the sky.

A comet managed to catch his eyes, glowing brillantly with yellow and red flames. It looked beautiful soaring through the night. The glow got brighter as the comet drew closer.

"Wait, closer?" Knuckles thought.

Without a second to think over his thought, Knuckles jumped up in horror as he realized that the comet was on a collison course with Angel Island. Striking the ground like a bullet, the fiery comet formed a large crater just about twenty feet away from the alter.

Knuckles was stunned for a moment, before he could shake of the shock. Wasting no time, Knuckles ran towards the area where the comet had landed. He was curious to know just how big the comet had been, given the size of the crater.

However, as Knuckles peered down into the dark recesses of the crater, a gasp escaped from his mouth. It wasn't a comet he had seen falling from the heavens, it was a hedgehog. A black and blue-striped hedgehog.

Sliding down into the crater, Knuckles quickly examined the unconious hedgehog. The strange hedgehog bore a striking resemblence to Shadow except he had no mouth and his stripes were blue instead of red.

Numerous cuts and bruises riddled the hedgehog's body, likely created from his unexpected crash landing. A big cut was on his forehead, still leaking blood. Although unsure about this stranger, Knuckles couldn't very well leave the fellow to die in this crater.

Wrapping one of the stranger's arms around his neck, and his own arm around the stranger's chest Knuckles lugged himself towards the Chaotix cabin.

"I just know the guys are going to rib me about this," thought Knuckles, with disdain.


	2. Chapter 2: Evil Under A New Name

**Ch.2: Evil Under A New Name**

The Chaotix had finally settled down to enjoy the steaming cups of hot chocolate Espio had made in order to quell the quarelling, when the front door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.

Shocked the Chaotix turned around to see Knuckles standing in the doorway, carrying an unconious black and blue hedgehog in his hands. Vector immediately got up to help Knuckles move the strange arrival to the couch.

Once their guest was laid down, Charmy covered the mysterious hedgehog with a blanket, and Espio started to check over his wounds.

"Who is this guy?" asked Vector, turning to Knuckles.

"I don't know" said Knuckles, looking at Vector " all I can tell you is that he fell from the sky,"

"He looks almost like Shadow," said Espio, putting medcine on the stranger's wounds.

"Yeah" agreed Charmy " and he doesn't have a mouth! Can he speak?"

"We'll just have to wait until he wakes up to find out for sure," said Knuckles.

"Boy strange things always happen to you don't they Knuckles?" said Vector.

"It's a gift," said Knuckles, smiling at the crocodile.

With that said, Knuckles joined the Chaotix at the dinner table. Espio quickly got up to make another cup of hot chocolate for Knuckles, which the echidna drank greatfully. After checking over the hedgehog's injuries one more time, the Chaotix dimissed themselves to go to bed, while Knuckles volunteered to keep an eye on their guest, making sure he didn't suffer through anything worse than a bump on the head.

Nothing happened throughout the night, and soon Knuckles found himself drifting off to sleep. By around 5 o'clock the next morning, their guest woke up.

"Ooo" muttered the black and blue hedgehog, opening his eyes " where am I?"

Curiously, his yellow eyes scanned the room he was in. He was in a living room of some sort of wood cabin. A sleeping red echidna with a white crescent moon on his chest sat just across from where he lay.

Pain was no stranger to him when he sat up on the couch and started calling out to the echidna. The echidna's eyes snapped open in an instant, and soon his voilet gaze was peering at the hedgehog's yellow eyes.

"You're awake," said Knuckles.

"Yeah" said the hedgehog " where am I?"

"You're in my home" said Knuckles " I'm Knuckles, Guardian of Angel Island. And you are?"

" I...I don't...remember," said hedgehog, after thinking over Knuckles question.

Knuckles stood silent for a moment to take this informantion in. The head wound the hedgehog had suffered from his crash landing must have been deeper than orginally thought. The hedgehog had amnesia.

"Can you remember anything at all?" asked Knuckles.

"Fire...and Shadow," said the hedgehog after a long moment of silence.

"Odd things to remember" thought Knuckles, then spoke to the hedgehog " well, if you can't remember your name, is it fine if I give you one?"

"I guess," said the hedgehog.

"How 'bout Dusk?" said Knuckles.

"Dusk" said the hedgehog, rolling the name around his tounge " I like it,"

"Good," said Knuckles.

"Knuckles" said Dusk " how did I get here?"

"Would you believe you fell from the sky?" asked Knuckles.

Dusk stared at Knuckles in disbelief, and before he could ask the echidna to explian, the Chaotix trudged out of their rooms ready for breakfast. Vector smiled when he saw their guest was finally awake.

"Glad to see your up" grinned the crocodile " I see you already met Knuckles. I'm Vector, leader of Team Chaotix! These are my partners, Espio the Chameleon and Charmy Bee. So what's your name sport?"

"Dusk," said Dusk.

"Dusk" said Charmy " who came up with a silly name like that?"

"I did," growled Knuckles.

"Oh" said Charmy, suddenly backing away in fear " I meant silly in a brillant way,"

"You mean Dusk isn't his real name?" asked Vector, looking at Knuckles.

"He couldn't remember so I gave him one," said Knuckles.

"Amnesia?" said Espio.

Knuckles nod confirmed it.

"Well seeing that there's nothing else to do until he regains his memory" said Espio " he may as well stay around here,"

"Are you nuts?" shouted Vector " what if he's a spy for Dr. Eggman?"

"And what if he's not?" said Charmy.

"Ultimately, it's your decision Knuckles," said Espio, before Vector and Charmy could argue.

"He stays," said Knuckles, after a moment of thought.

"Welcome to the team!" yelled Charmy flying over to Dusk.

As the rest of the Chaotix tried their best to follow Charmy's lead, Knuckles couldn't help but wonder if he made the right choice.


	3. Chapter 3: Exploring Sandopolis

**Ch.3: Exploring Sandopolis**

Two days later, Knuckles had a moment of peace on Angel Island. The Chaotix had got called down to the surface to work on a detective case, and that just left him and Dusk watching over Angel Island.

Just as the two were finishing up their breakfast that morning, a shrill ringing sound interrupted the silence. Getting up Knuckles went up over to the video link Tails had installed for him, pressed the recieve button, and was soon staring at the image of the twin-tailed fox.

"Hey Knuckles," said Tails.

"What's the emergency?" asked Knuckles, since that was either what Tails or Sonic called for.

"What do mean 'what's the emergency' ? " said Sonic, appearing on screen " don't tell me you forgot about the party tomorrow,"

"What party?" asked Knuckles, confused.

"Rouge's birthday party remember?" said Tails as Sonic smacked himself in the head " you said you come to her party,"

"Oh right, I remember now" said Knuckles, hiding a slight blush " don't worry I'll be there,"

"Good" said Tails " don't forget to bring a present,"

"Yeah Knuckles" said Sonic with a sinister smirk " you don't want to dissapiont your girlfriend do you?"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLDFRIEND!" shouted Knuckles, before slamming his fist hard into the video screen.

"Great" said Knuckles, looking at the shattered shards of the device " guess Tails will have come up here and make me another one, again,"

"So what are you going to get her for her birthday?" asked Dusk, still sitting at the breakfast table.

"Knowing her it's got to be jewels" said Knuckles " I think there may be some in the ruins of Sandopolis, but I'm not sure,"

"Well" said Dusk, walking over to Knuckles " let's find out then,"

With that said the pair trudged off to Sandopolis.

* * *

In the first two days he had been here Dusk had been shown many wonderful places on Angel Island. He had gotten to see the beautiful Cyrstal Falls where Knuckles and his friends always took time to relax, the wonderful scenery of the Marble Gardens, and even the Master Emerald's shrine.

Compared to those places, Sandopolis was like a death trap. Knuckles had warned Dusk about the gaint worms that roamed the sands, but Dusk didn't expect to get up close and personal with these natural behemonths. If hadn't been for Knuckles, he'd probably be worm bait right now.

Avoiding any other 'sidetracks', Knuckles and Dusk finally made it to the Sandopolis ruins. It was a large and beautiful, stone-carved corridor, lit with torches, and ancient writing scribbled on the wall. Dusk tried his best to decipher the writing, but couldn't even get past the first word.

"What kind of lanague is this?" said Dusk.

"It Tori" said Knuckles " an ancient echidna tounge. It explains the tragic history of my kind,"

"Your kind?" said Dusk " what happened to them?"

"They're gone" said Knuckles, sadly " I am the only one left to carry on the Guardian's legacy,"

For some strange reason Dusk felt pity for the poor echidna. The torment that Knuckles had gone through had reminded Dusk about something from his past. In his mind Dusk could see clearly about a world consumed by flames.

Buildings layed in ruins, and barely anyone was left alive. For some reason a silver hedgehog and a cat were in his vision as well. What could they mean?

Shaking off his graphic thoughts, Dusk continued to follow Knuckles deeper into the corridor. Statues of ancient warriors and fierce animals greeted them as they walked, until both the echidna and hedgehog found themselves standing in front of a large, ornate, stone door.

"This must be the way to the shrine" said Knuckles, examining the door " but I don't see anyway to open it. It would take to long to punch my way through,"

"Well how 'bout we do this then," said Dusk, putting his hand on Knuckles shoulder.

Before Knuckles knew what was going on both he and Dusk disappeared in a puff of black smoke. When they reappeared, they were on the other side of the door. Knuckles looked around the treasure room, stunned.

A gaint gold statue of an ancient echidna warrior stood standing in the center of the room, with a spear clutched in his right hand and a sheild in his left. Two piles of treause decorated both sides of the small room, gleaming with gold and jewels.

Shaking off the splendor that stood before him, Knuckles turned and looked at Dusk.

"How did you do that?" asked Knuckles, reffering to the teleporting.

"I don't know" said Dusk " I just felt like I could do it,"

"Well, whatever you did" said Knuckles " it helped us get past the door. Look around and help me search, there's got to be a few jewels in here,"

With that said, Knuckles and Dusk split up and searched the room, Dusk to the right and Knuckles to the left. Dusk hadn't found anything of interest in his search so far until a captivating purple glow caught his eye.

Digging deeper in his pile, Dusk extracted the purple glowing object, and was soon looking into the majestic beauty of the purple chaos emerald. Dusk could feel it in his veins that this gem in his hands held limitless power, and without telling Knuckles, slipped it into his invisble pocket to keep for himself.

"Now this is perfect!" said Knuckles, excitedly.

Dusk turned around to see what Knuckles had found, and was impressed to see that it was large, flawless, diamond that twinkled with fiery brillance in the dim light of the torches. A perfect gift for a former jewel thief. But that wasn't all Knuckles managed to find.

"Come on" said Knuckles, putting on the Shovel Claws he had found " it's time to get out of here,"

Putting the diamond inside his invisble pocket, Knuckles dived into the ground, and with the help of the Shovel Claws, was able to quickly dig a tunnel to the other side of the door. Once complete Dusk followed after Knuckles, and soon both explorers were tracking their out of Sandopolis. Ready to rest and relax before the party tomorrow.

Oh, if they only knew what horrors would await for them that day.


	4. Chapter 4: Happy Birthday Rouge

**Ch.4: Happy Birthday Rouge**

Tomorrow afternoon came sooner than expected, and everyone hand gathered in the park to throw Rouge's surprise party. The sun was only a few hours away from setting in the horizion.

A table had been set up with cake, ice cream, and presents. Most of the Sonic gang had already arrived to celebrate. Their was just one member missing, Knuckles the Echidna.

"Geez" said Sonic " that guy takes forever to get to a party,"

"You don't think he forgot again do you?" asked Amy.

"I hope not" said Tails " we reminded him twice before we started setting up,"

"Here he comes," said Cream, pointing to the sky.

Everyone looked to where the rabbit was pointing, and saw Knuckles gliding in with a mysterious hedgehog hanging onto his back.

"Hey ya Knuckles" said Sonic, running up to his old friend " glad you could make it. Whose this?"

"This is Dusk" said Knuckles, pointing to the hedgehog " he kind of crash landed on my island one day,"

"He looks just like Shadow" Tails analyzed " except a few minor differences,"

"Hmph" said Sonic " I can't when Shadow gets here with Rouge and sees this. They're going to flip. Did you find Rouge a cool birthday present Knux?"

"Oh, I'll think she'll like it," said Knuckles with a grin.

Suddenly Shadow teleported in with Rouge, and everyone ran to great them. When Knuckles pulled out the sparkling white diamond and gave it to Rouge, the bat's grin lit up like a christmas tree. She was about to award Knuckles gift with a kiss, when Shadow suddenly charged and attacked Dusk.

Everyone was confused by the sudden brutal assualt. However, Shadow did not relent.

He had recgonized a face that he had become know to fear. The face of a dark reflection that carried no heart or soul. The face of Mephiles the Dark!

Mephiles though, was unaware of his true nature, and therefore was confused when his hedgehog who almost looked like his doubleganger, decided to attack him. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge were yelling for Shadow to stop, but the black hedgehog's sights were set to kill.

Before Shadow could finish what he had set off to do, a blinding powerful punch hit him in the side, sending him flying off Mephiles a.k.a. Dusk.

Stunned, Shadow turned to see who dared to attack him. His red eyes widened in surprise when he saw that his attacker had been none other than Knuckles. The red echidna was growling at Shadow fiercely. His voilet gaze was alit with fire, and his fangs bared showing he meant business.

Shadow was shocked, but not impressed. Getting up to his feet Shadow glared at Knuckles.

"Get out of the way!" said Shadow.

"Not until you give a good reason for knocking over my friend," said Knuckles, raising his fists.

"Friend?" said Shadow, angrily pointing to Dusk " that guy is no one's friend! This is Mephiles the Dark, destroyer of time and space!"

"What?" said Sonic and the others confused.

"The last time he appeared" said Shadow " Mephiles was on the verge of destroying all reality. Me, Sonic, and Silver had to put a stop to him. Want to the reason we look so much alike? He swallowed my shadow! I don't know how Mephiles survived after we destroyed Solaris, but I'm not taking any chance,"

With that said, Shadow charged towards Mephiles again, but was stopped in his tracks by Knuckles. Anger was still alit in Knuckles eyes.

"Leave...Dusk...Alone," said Knuckles slowly, emphazising each word as his voilet eyes stared into Shadow's red orbs.

"Make me," said Shadow.

And with that, Shadow and Knuckles started to brawl.


	5. Chapter 5: Shadow vs Knuckles

**Ch.5: Shadow vs Knuckles**

Some birthday party this was turning out to be for Rouge. Sure, she may have gotten a great gift. But now two of her most agressive best friends were at war with each other.

Fairly enough, Knuckles and Shadow could be considered an equal match. They both possessed enhanced speed, strentgh, and the ability to control chaos. The Ultimate Lifeform vs the Guardian of the Master Emerald. It was sure to be a good match.

Shadow made the first, and laucnhed a powerful super spin right towards Knuckles. Making use of his own agility, Knuckles avoided the super spin by jumping into the branches of a nearby tree.

Undeteered by the evasive manvuer, Shadow redirected his attack towards the tree and cut it to the ground. During the tree's fall, Knuckles glided out, put on the shovel claws and dove into the ground. Leaving everyone guessing to where he was hiding.

Vibrations suddenly shuddered under Shadow's feet. Before the hedgehog could get out of the way in time, Knuckles came out of the ground and hooked his chin with a flaming uppercut.

The force of the blow caused Shadow to sagger back about five feet, while Knuckles landed gentley on the ground. Something wet poured out of the corner of Shadow's lip. Moving one his white gloves to the wet spot, Shadow gasped in surprise when he saw that it had been tainted by tiny dots of red.

His red eyes locked on Knuckles, who was still in fighting position, fist aflame. The echidna had managed to draw first blood. Shadow grinned, he was going to be a worthy foe to face indeed.

Throwing away all his special chaos and speed moves, Shadow locked in for close combat with Knuckles. Punch after punch, kick after kick, it was scary to see how they matched the other's moves.

Finally, Shadow managed to find a mistake in Knuckles pattern and knocked the echidna into a nearby. The force of the impact left Knuckles stunned, and he found himself unable to move.

Everyone grew worried as Shadow approached the injured Knuckles, determined to finish the battle. Knuckles was in no more condition to get up and fight, so just glared as Shadow approached.

Dusk had seen enough from the sidelines, and with anger boiling in his veins, sped himself between Shadow and Knuckles. His green eyes glared at Shadow as he growled...

"Don't touch my echidna,"

Holding up one hand, Dusk blasted Shadow into a nearby tree using a unseen force. Before Shadow had time enough to recover for a counterstrike, Dusk pulled out the purple chaos emerald he had found in Sandopolis and held it over his head.

The chaos emerald glowed with a bright purple light, a soon encased both Dusk and Knuckles in a swirling cloud of chaos energy. The cloud pulsated about two or three times before exploding with light, blinding all who were looking at it.

When the light vanished, and the moment had passed, everyone looked to where Dusk and Knuckles had been, and saw nothing. Dusk and Knuckles were gone.


	6. Chapter 6: Future Vision

**Ch.6: Future Vision**

When the purple light vanished, Knuckles looked at where he and Dusk were. The earth was jagged and scarred. Rivers of lava cut through the earth, hissing like writhing snakes. And not a soul was seen alive.

"Where are we?" said Knuckles.

Dusk looked around, just as confused as Knuckles. This world they were in didn't look anything like the park they left behind, yet Dusk felt as if he knew it somehow. Dusk was soon broken out of his thoughts by an angry Knuckles.

"Where did you take us?" said Knuckles.

"I don't know" said Dusk, pulling out the purple chaos emerald " I just wanted to get us far away from that Shadow character, and this jewel granted my wish,"

"A Chaos Emerald" said Knuckles, looking at the jewel " where did you find this?"

"While we were searching for a birthday present," said Dusk.

Knuckles stood, taking this information in for a minute, before he decided to speak again.

"Well" said Knuckles, looking at Dusk " do you think you can do it again? Return us to our time?"

"I'll try," said Dusk.

But before the hedgehog could concentrate his will to send them home, a familiar yell cut through the air, making both Dusk and Knuckles jump in shock. Quickly, the two friends ran to the edge of the cliff, their eyes widening in surprise at what they saw.

Running across the ruined buildings, about ten yards away, were another Dusk and Knuckles. The other Knuckles looked steamed, while the other Dusk had a nasty grin on his face like he was enjoying the chase.

"Mephiles!" shouted the other Knuckles.

"Mephiles?" the real Knuckles thought " isn't that what Shadow called Dusk right before we left? Can that hedgehog the other me is chasing really be him?"

"Haha!" laughed the other Dusk, looking at the echidna running behind him " old friendships die hard don't they Knuckles? Rest assured, I won't go easy on you this time,"

"The feeling's mutual!" growled the other Knuckles, lunging at Dusk.

From their ledge, Knuckles and Dusk watched in horror as their counterparts fought. Neither side giving in, all their moves dangerous and deadly. This would be a fight to the very end.

After numerous exchanges of kicks and blows, the other Dusk and Knuckles had finally managed to drag their battle to the roof on one of the ruined buildings. Both opponents were extremely tired from their fight, and their chests heaved for air.

"I thought...we were...friends Dusk," the other Knuckles, managed to say.

Those were the last words he ever got to say before the other Dusk stabbed him through the heart with the Chaos Javelian. Once the other Knuckles body lay dead on the ground, the other Dusk approached his former friend, and said the five coldest words Knuckles had ever heard.

"I was never your friend,"

From their ledge, Dusk and Knuckles stood in silence. The scene that had played out before them still haunted their minds. Was this really their future?

"I want to go home now," said Dusk to the purple chaos emerald.

With that said, a purple glow once again consumed both Dusk and Knuckles. When it vanished, the two were back in the present, on Angel Island.

From the sounds of silence inside the cabin, near the alter, Knuckles could tell that the Chaotix had not come home yet from their case. He was glad. After what he just saw, he needed time to think.

Dusk didn't follow Knuckles inside and just sat on the shrine stairs, staring at his chaos emerald, and wondering about the vision he and Knuckles had saw. He didn't want to kill Knuckles in the future.

The echidna had taken him in and healed his injuries. He had treated him like a friend and let him meet his inner circle. Heck, he trusted Dusk with the secret of his job. The poor guy was the last of his kind. If he died, who else would take over the job of watching the Master Emerald?

Suddenly, an idea popped up in Dusk's mind. Grinning, he looked evily at the Chaos Emerald he held in his hand. He had an idea how to change the future, and he intended to enact it.


	7. Chapter 7: Mephiles Reborn!

**Ch.7: Mephiles Reborn!**

Shadow found himself walking away from Rouge's party once Knuckles and Mephiles decided to disappear. He had tried to explian to Sonic and the others why they couldn't trust Mephiles, but they sided with Knuckles judgement, and decided to remian Dusk's friend.

"Idiots" said Shadow, kicking a nearby rock " why can't they remember all the horrible things Mephiles has done in the past? Why can't Sonic remember? After all he was killed by Mephiles? Hmph, these time paradoxes get more irratating every time,"

As if to prove Shadow's point a swirling blue portal opened up to allow Silver the Hedgehog to slip through. He grinned upon seeing Shadow and ran over to the black hedgehog's side.

"Hi Silver" said Shadow " what are you doing here?"

"Knuckles" said Silver " I need to find him! It's an emergency!"

"What are you talking about?" said Shadow.

"It's Mephiles" said Silver " he's back! I don't know why or how, but what I do know is if I don't find Knuckles soon, everyone in my world is going to die,"

"I'll take you to him right away" said Shadow " but first, we're going to need some transportation,"

With that Shadow and Silver blasted off to Sonic's house.

Needless to say, Sonic was surprised when Shadow showed up on his doorstep with a hedgehog he had never seen before.

"Who's this?" said Sonic, pointing at Silver.

"Don't you recgonize me Sonic?" asked Silver surprised.

"Don't waste your breath Silver" said Shadow " he doesn't remember anything, none of them do. Something must have wiped their memories after our battle with Mephiles,"

"What's going on here?" said Tails, walking out of his room.

"No time to explian" said Shadow " Knuckles is in danger, and if we don't find him soon, the whole universe may die,"

* * *

On Angel Island, the Chaotix had finally arrived after taking care of their case. Their skins were soaking wet, looking like they had been swimming the entire ocean just to get here. A few fresh bruises also decorated their bodies.

"Never again" said Espio, angrilly " am I jumping into a public swimming pool just to get a lady back her pet duck,"

"Yeah" said Charmy " especially when the entire ladies swim team is in there for pratice. What do those women put in their purses anyways? Bricks?,"

"Quit complianing" said Vector " at least we got paid well. Just hope Knux doesn't rib us to much once we show up home like this,"

"I don't he'll rib us to bad...," started Espio, before he suddenly cut off.

"What's up Espio?" asked Vector.

The chameleon just pointed to the alter and when Vector turned to look, his red eyes widened in surprise to see Dusk doing something weird with Knuckles Chaos Emeralds. Ever since the defeat of the Metarex, Knuckles had been entrusted with the Chaos Emeralds care, in order to prevent the wrong person from having them.

By the evil smirk on Dusk's face, it was obvisous whatever he was going to do with those emeralds wasn't going to be good.

"Hey Dusk!" yelled Vector, approaching the black hedgehog " what do you think your doing man?"

"Stay away Vector" said Dusk, blasting the crocodile away with chaos energy " no one may interfere,"

Before any of the Chaotix could run over to tackle Dusk an angry voice came from the cabin.

"Dusk!" yelled Knuckles, eyes narrowed in rage.

"Knuckles" said Dusk surprised at seeing the echidna " I thought you were asleep,"

"I was until I heard Vector shout in pain" said Knuckles " what are you plan on doing with those Emeralds,"

"Reshape history" said Dusk " so that we can be friends for life,"

"He's gone back to being Mephiles" Knuckles growled in his mind " seeing that fight between the future me and him reawakened his dark personality and desire to bend time and space. I have to stop him before the universe is destroyed,"

"Behold" said Mephiles, as a time portal unfolded from the power of the Chaos and Master Emeralds. " as I reshape the world to what it should be,"

"No!" shouted Knuckles, and followed Mephiles into the time portal.

By the time Tails, Shadow, Sonic, and Silver had arrived, it was to late. Knuckles and Mephiles were gone.


	8. Chapter 8: A Dark Proposal

**Ch.8: A Dark Proposal**

"Ugh!" said Knuckles, as he jumped out of the time portal " Whoa,"

Wherever Mephiles had taken him, Knuckles words couldn't describe it. There, right in front of him, stood a demonic black version of the Master Emerald's alter. The Master Emerald was placed in the center of the alter, glowing bright green, with the Chaos Emeralds circling around it.

The grass Knuckles was laying on was as black as coal, and the leaves on all the trees were painted blood red. From his surroundings, Knuckles concluded that he was on a dark version of Angel Island.

"You like your new home" said the crystaline version of Mephiles floating down from the sky " I made it just for you,"

"What is this place?" asked Knuckles.

"A solution" said Mephiles " I've created a seperate reality for us where we rule all. No more fear about betrayal, or friends who don't stand by your side. In this dimension Knuckles, you and me are Kings,"

"But I don't want to rule over a land of darkness Mephiles" said Knuckles " I want to live in my time, where I have my friends waiting for me,"

"I'm your friend too" said Mephiles " and I feel I should repay you for the kindness you have given me. Think about it Knuckles. With the Emeralds under my command, I can grant you anything you wish for. You miss your race? One tweak of reality and they're alive again. Come Knuckles, Wish!"

"I want my friend Dusk back!" yelled Knuckles, charging at Mephiles.

"Then good luck getting your wish," said Mephiles, charging at Knuckles.

Without another word they began to fight.

* * *

While Knuckles and Mephiles were busy duking it out in another dimension, Sonic and the others were still looking at the swirling time vortex hanging above the Master Emerald's alter.

"We have to get in there and help him," said Sonic.

"No Sonic" said Tails " the charge coming from that portal is to strong. You'll be burned to a crisp,"

"Hey" said Sonic " if Knuckles can make it, so can I,"

"Just a percaution," said Silver " we may want to stay inside my pyshic shield until we pass safely through the wormhole,"

"Sounds like a plan to me" said Shadow " let's do it,"

With that said, Silver wrapped his pyshic sheild around himself, Shadow, and Sonic and passed through the portal in time.

* * *

Meanwhile, Knuckles was putting up a fair fight againist Mephiles. His chest he greatly for air as he down another five of Mephiles shadow clones. The real Mephiles just floated there, watching the Guardian's determined face as he took one clone after another.

"What strentgh" thought Mephiles " to bad he decided to turn down my reward. We could have ruled the world together,"

Charging up a purple shockwave in his hand, Mephiles launched the ball of energy at Knuckles just as the echdina took out another one of his shadow clones. Knuckles felt the attack coming, but didn't have a chance to dodge.

Before he knew it, Knuckles was laying flat on the ground, paralyzed by pain. Calling off his shadow clones, Mephiles floated down and landed by Knuckles side, rasing his claw to deliever the final blow.

"I guess we weren't friends after all," said Knuckles, his voilet gaze locking onto Mephiles.

For some reason, after Knuckles had said that, Mephiles stopped his attack. For a brief moment the darkness had claimed Mephiles released its hold, and Knuckles was looking into the eyes of his old friend Dusk.

"Maybe there's still hope to save him," thought Knuckles.

Sonic, Shadow, and Silver couldn't have picked a worse time to arrive. The three hedgehogs wasted no time attacking Mephiles, injuring him in anyway they can. Knuckles tried to shout for them to stop, but the effects of Mephiles earlier attack hadn't worn off just yet.

The darkness returned to Mephiles eyes as he blasted Shadow, Sonic, and Silver away.

"Fine" growled Mephiles " if I can't live your world, no one can!"

With that Mephiles called upon the Chaos Emeralds and started to rip the universe apart!


	9. Chapter 9: Going Hyper!

**Ch.9: Going Hyper!**

A rip through time and space appeared in the sky, sucking in the dimension Mephiles had created. Similar things were happening in Silver's future as well as in Sonic's world. If this vortex remained open for much longer the whole universe would be destroyed!

"We've got to stop him!" yelled Sonic, through the howling wind.

"How?" shouted Silver " the winds to strong! If we make even one mistake, we'll get sucked into the vortex!"

"There's got to be someway!" yelled Shadow, over the wind.

"Look!" yelled Sonic, pointing over in the distance.

Both Shadow and Silver's eyes widened in amazement once they saw what Sonic was looking at. Taking off his gloves, Knuckles had exposed his natrual born claws and spurs, and was steadily crawling his way up the black version of the Master Emerald alter.

It was hard going with the wind working againist him and all, but Knuckles trudged on, never losing his grip of the earth. The wind grew stronger the closer he got to the top of the shrine, and closer to Mephiles.

"Please Master Emerald" Knuckles begged in his mind " give me the strentgh needed to save my friends,"

The Master Emerald heard its Guardian's silent request and glowed bright with power. Knuckles body started to glow bright pink as a new found power surged through him, tripling his strentgh.

With one solid punch, Hyper Knuckles knocked Mephiles away from the Chaos Emeralds, causing the time rip to stop growing, but not from howling. Mephiles souless yellow eyes glared at Knuckles as he called up his shadow clones to help fight.

Knuckles showed no fear as the shadow clones charged. Unleashing a pair of shining yellow Chaos Blades, the Mephiles clones went up in smoke in an instant.

Growling in anger, Mephiles charged at Hyper Knuckles, determined to inflict some personal damage. Both powerful foes traded blows with each other leaving no room for their opponent to attack or counterattack. By what Sonic, Shadow, and Silver were seeing, Knuckles and Mephiles were on equal ground.

Mephiles and Knuckles locked together with incredible force, a shoving mtach started between the two. Trying to push the opponent out with their superior power. Knuckles voilet eyes locked on Mephile's yellow gaze and looked deeply into the hedgehog's soul.

Through his eyes, Knuckles could see all the horrible things Mephiles had done. He saw him kill Sonic, he saw him try remake the world as Solaris, and he saw the reason why Mephiles had such problems with Shadow.

"That's why Shadow saw him as a monster," Knuckles thought, finally understanding the black hedgehog's reasoning.

But as Knuckles continued to glare at Mephile's he saw another side emerge. The side that he had become friends with. An unknown hedgehog with amnesia seeking a friend. That side of Mephiles was now being caged by his dark personality.

"Well now I'm going to put an end to it," thought Knuckles, and started doing something he or any other Guardian had never tried before.

Mephiles yellow eyes widened in surprise as the dark energy surrounding him rose off his body and dissappear into Knuckles skin. Knuckles Hyper form changed from pink to red and the end of his dreadlocks and claws began to crystalize.

Ignoring the changes happening to his body, Knuckles continued to drain away all of Mephile's dark energy. Mephiles felt his dark form grow weaker by the moment, and soon he turned back into his old hedgehog like self.

Draining the last of Mephile's dark energy, Knuckles let the hedgehog fall unconious to the ground, his mind now focused on the time rip that was ripping the entire universe apart.

Calling on the power of the Chaos and Master Emeralds, Hyper Knuckles closed the time rip, and engulfed everything in a bright white light. Transporting him and his friends back home to their world and restoring the universe to peace.


	10. Chapter 10: Starting Anew

**Ch.10: Starting Anew**

Five minutes later, Sonic found himself waking up from Tails frantic shaking of his body. Wearily, Sonic's green eyes scanned his surroundings. Shadow and Silver had also been knocked unconious and were being woken up by Charmy and Espio.

"Come on Knuckles!" Sonic heard Vector's desperate voice say " you got to wake up buddy!"

Sonic got up and looked towards the echidna in question. From the looks of it he was still in Hyper form. The crystal that had formed on his dreadlocks and hands didn't go away. Although he was back to his regualur red fur now.

It was still kind of disturbing to see Knuckles hands without the gloves, but Sonic quickly pushed that fear aside after Vector finally managed to get the unconious echidna to awaken.

"Wha...what happened?" asked Knuckles confused, then suddenly all the memories came flooding back to him like a tidal wave " oh yeah, I remember,"

"Glad to see you back among the living Knux," grinned Sonic, walking over.

"Yeah" said Vector " it took forever to wake you up,"

"Where's Mephiles?" asked Knuckles.

"Over there," said Vector, pointing the bottom of the Master Emerald shrine.

From the rising and falling of Mephile's chest, it was pretty clear to everyone he was still alive. Of course, once Shadow realized this, he recovered from his woozy state quickly, and ran over to finish off Mephiles.

Shock consumed everyone as Knuckles managed to push himself faster, and appeared right in between Shadow and Mephiles.

"That's enough Shadow," growled Knuckles.

"After all that's happened" said Shadow " you still defend that monster?"

"He's not a monster!" said Knuckles " at least not anymore,"

"What do you mean?" asked Silver, approaching behind Shadow.

"I absorbed his evil side," said Knuckles.

"Really?" said Sonic, as everyone else gasped in shock " can you do that?"

"It has always been one of the Guardian's powers" said Knuckles " but we've never had a reason to do it before,"

Suddenly, Mephiles picked that exact moment to awaken. His yellow eyes held a confused look as he looked around, observing everyone gathered around him. His curious gaze landed on Knuckles new form, seeking answers.

"What happened?" asked Mephiles " why are you in that form? What happened to Rouge's birthday party?"

"It's a long story Dusk," said Knuckles, kneeling down by the hedgehog's side.

"So after all this trouble" Knuckles thought " he has amnesia again. Only this time, he no longer has his evil personality to tempt him back into his evil ways. I'll have to keep a close eye on myself though. Don't want to accidently close my eyes and destroy the world. But I'm glad everything is back to normal,"

* * *

And back to normal they were. At least as normal it could get in world where Sonic the Hedgehog thrived. Mephiles was back to being Dusk and lived happily on Angel Island along with Knuckles and the Chaotix.

Once or twice a week he would come down to the surface for a visit. Sonic and Tails greeted Dusk warmly, happily accepting the return of his friendly nature. The girls accepted Mephiles as a friend right away, still remembering the way the hedgehog had protected Knuckles at Rouge's birthday party.

Shadow was still reluctant to be friends with his former enemey, and still thought Knuckles was a fool for not killing off Mephiles when he had a chance. Even now if Silver's future was restored to a peaceful and loving place, Shadow didn't care. There was no way in the world that he would befriend that monster!

"Shadow?" asked a familiar voice " what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing" said Shadow, turning around to face the echidna " sometimes I just don't understand you Knuckles. Mephiles is an enemey. He nearly destroyed the whole universe! How can you accept him as a friend so quickly?"

"Because" said Knuckles, walking up next to Shadow " if there's one thing I learned from my adventures with Sonic, is that people can change,"

There was moment of silence before Knuckles continued.

"A long time ago Shadow" said Knuckles " I also thought you were the enemey. Back on the Space Colony Ark you were willing to destroy the entire world just to avenge the death of your friend Maria. You were like Sonic's evil half brought to life. But if you can change, why can't Mephiles?"

Shadow stood silent for a moment, thinking over what Knuckles had said, before turning away and saying...

"We'll see,"

Knuckles smiled as the black hedgehog walked away, knowing in his heart that Shadow would try to adjust and give Mephiles that chance, before returning home to Angel Island.

**The End**


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